Morris named District Administrator of the Year

Roma Windham Morris, principal of Simpson Central School, was named 2013-2014 District Administrator of the Year for Simpson County School District.

During the past two years, under the leadership of Morris and her administrative team, Simpson Central has achieved a QDI of 190, the highest QDI ever achieved in the school district. Simpson Central also received the Champions of Change Award from the Mississippi Department of Education and the PREPS Value Added Award in both English/language arts and math, among numerous other honors.

Morris has a history of success in the schools she leads. Prior to returning to the Simpson County School District, she served as the federal programs director for the Columbia School District. She also served as the assistant principal at Jefferson Middle School. Morris wrote several grants for the school district including a $40,000 grant through the Mississippi Department of Education to train teachers in dyslexia strategies to improve some of the reading weaknesses in the lower grades. She also wrote and monitored the Reading is Fundamental Grant and the Healthy Schools Grant, which included creating a flexible “breakfast in the courtyard” schedule for high school students.

Morris also served as principal of Pearl Lower Elementary in Pearl, where she was selected as Administrator of the Year for the school district, Outstanding Administrator of the Year by the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education, Mississippi’s Third Congressional District Administrator of the Year, and Mississippi’s National Distinguished Principal (NDP) through the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Morris was presented the award in Washington, D.C., by the U.S. Department of Education.

Morris also has roots in the Hattiesburg area where she taught fifth and sixth grades at Rawls Springs Elementary. While there, she coordinated the fundraising activity for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, served as a volunteer children’s reader for the Pinebelt Reading Association, and was selected by her principal, Annette Waltman, to video an instructional math lesson for presentation to the Forrest County School Board.

Morris graduated from Magee High School, received an associate’s degree from Jones County Community College, a bachelor’s from the University of Southern Mississippi, a master’s degree from William Carey Universityand a doctorate from Mississippi State University.

Morris has taught in Simpson, Smith and Forrest counties. She has served in the administrative capacity for more than 18 years in districts including Simpson, Smith, Hinds, Columbia and Pearl.

She has completed her second year as principal of Simpson Central School and has more than 23 years of service to the field of education. Morris also has served as an adjunct professor at Delta State University for the past six years, teaching master’s, specialist and doctoral level courses in education and administration.

Morris is the daughter of Doris Windham of Hattiesburg and the late Romeo Windham of Magee. She has two sisters in the Hattiesburg/Lamar County area: Diane Crutchfield and Rebecca Grayson.

Morris has one daughter, Whitney, who lives in Alabama with her husband, Brett, and their two children, James Fleet and Caleb.